The Miracle of Music
by Emi-Chan1
Summary: Declan meets a girl with a beautiful voice
1. Ave Maria

Title: The Miracle of Music: Ave Maria  
  
Author: Emi-Chan  
  
E-mail: EmiChan14@aol.com  
  
Rating: G  
  
Keywords: "Ave Maria" (song), singing (you get the idea)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I'm just using them for this story. I promise I'll give them back..... eventually.  
  
Summary: Declan meets a girl with a beautiful voice.  
  
  
3:30 Monday afternoon, Northern Oregon University, Music Building, Practice room #13  
  
Chloe opened her choir folder and plunked out her first note on the piano, F. She hummed the note and got herself into a singing position.  
  
She loved this piece.  
  
Ave Maria,  
  
She started to sing.  
  
Gratia plena;  
Dominus tecum.  
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,  
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.  
  
This was her favorite part.  
  
Sancta Maria, Sancta Maria, Maria  
Ora pronobis, nobis pecatoribus  
Nunc et in ho--  
  
She winced. The high note always caught her off guard. Try again.  
  
Ora pronobis, nobis pecatoribus  
Nunc et in hora,  
Hora mortis nostrae, Amen.  
  
Chloe sighed. This was her absolute favorite piece in the whole world. She was glad her choir was singing it. She played the F again and restarted the song.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Declan was walking through the halls of the music building. He always came here when he was stressed out. The music always calmed him. Sometimes he'd walk by a violinist practicing a very complicated piece (it never ceased to amaze him that they could move their bows that fast), or maybe a vocal ensemble perfecting a song. No matter what it was, it was always beautiful.  
  
As he walked by one of the practice rooms, number 13, he heard something familiar. He stopped and listened.  
  
Ave Maria,  
Gratia Plena;  
Dominus tecum,  
  
It was Ave Maria! It had been so long since he had heard that song.  
  
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,  
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.  
  
This took him back. It made him think of being a little boy sitting in mass. He remembered the soloist singing this song.  
  
Sancta Maria, Sancta Maria, Maria,  
  
This was his favorite part.  
  
Ora pronobis, nobis pecatoribus,  
Nunc et in hora,  
Hora mortis nostrae, Amen.  
  
Declan smiled. He loved this song.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Chloe finished singing the last note of Ave Maria and looked down at her watch. She still had a half hour until choir started. Might as well get there early. Maybe some of her friends would be there. She opened the door to find an unusually dressed man standing outside the practice room door.  
  
They both jerked to attention with surprise.  
  
"Oh, hi," Chloe said, staring inquisitively at this strange man, "Who are you?"  
  
Declan smiled, "I'm Declan Dunn," he said, "I'm an Anthropology professor over at the Science and History building."  
  
"Oh." Chloe replied. She wasn't quite sure where that was.  
  
"So what's your name?" Declan asked.  
  
"Chloe Andersen."  
  
"You look a little young to be in college." Declan brought up abruptly.  
  
"Oh, I'm not in college," Chloe answered, "I'm 15 years old. I'm a sophomore over at Portland Central. I'm just here for choir."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You have a beautiful voice," Declan said, "I love Ave Maria, are you singing it in choir?"  
  
"Yes, actually," Chloe said, starting to get into this conversation, "We'll be performing it in two weeks."  
  
"I'll have to get a ticket to that. What choir did you say you were in?"  
  
"I didn't say," Chloe replied, "I'm in the Youth Chorus of St. Cecelia."  
  
"St. Cecelia, she's the patron saint of music," Declan said, throwing in one of the many random facts he knew.  
  
"Yeah," Chloe said, "how did you know that?"  
  
"Just one of the things I learned when I was studying to be an Anthropologist."  
  
"Oh." Chloe smiled.  
  
Declan glanced down at his watch, "I gotta go," he said, "I guess I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Declan walked toward the door and Chloe went the other way to the elevator to go to choir.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
1:30 Tuesday Afternoon, Peggy's office  
  
"Hey, Peg," Declan greeted as he walked into Peggy's office, "how would you like to go to a concert in two weeks?"  
  
Peggy looked up at Declan from her computer, "What concert is it?"  
  
"The Youth Chorus of St. Cecelia," Declan said as he whipped out two tickets from his pocket, "Music of the Spirit."  
  
"The Youth Chorus of St. Cecelia?" Peggy questioned, "Since when were you into choral music?"  
  
Declan told her the story about how he met Chloe Andersen.  
  
"So are you going to come with me?" Declan asked with that all-too-familiar look on his face that no one could resist.  
  
Peggy sighed, "All right," she said.  
  
Declan smiled, "Great!" he said, "I'd better go, or I'll be late for class."  
  
He left the room and Peggy went back to working on her computer.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
2:15 Tuesday Afternoon, Declan's Anthropology class  
  
"For as long as history goes back, there has always been music." Declan said to his class. About half of them were paying attention, "Every single culture has it; our lives wouldn't be the same without it."  
  
He pressed the 'play' button on the stereo he had brought that day and orchestral music came out. "Does anyone know what this is?" he asked.  
  
A girl named Sarah raised her hand and Declan nodded toward her.  
  
"It's Beethoven's Ninth Symphony," she said.  
  
"That's right." Declan said, "It was written during the classical period, a time when people were discovering new things about music, like the fact that everything does not have to be in unison. Does anyone know anything about Beethoven?"  
  
Sarah raised her hand.  
  
"Anyone else?" Declan looked around the classroom, scanning for people who were asleep, "Jared?"  
  
Jared woke up. "Wha?" he said drowsily.  
  
A few students giggled.  
  
"Would you like to answer the question?"  
  
"Umm..." Jared said, very confused, "Christopher Columbus?" This response generated a few laughs.  
  
"Nice try," Declan said sarcastically, "next time, stay awake." He looked toward Sarah who was still patiently raising her hand. "Sarah?"  
  
"He was deaf." Sarah stated.  
  
Declan nodded. That was just the answer he was looking for. "Beethoven was deaf when he wrote his ninth and last symphony," Declan said, "and yet he knew that all of those notes he wrote down on paper would turn out to sound like this." He motioned toward the stereo, "Now that is the miracle of music."  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Ave Maria: Translation  
  
Hail Mary,  
Full of grace;  
The Lord be with you.  
Blessed are you,  
And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  
Holy Mary,  
Pray for us sinners  
Now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  



	2. Adagio for Strings

Title: The Miracle of Music: Adagio for Strings  
  
Author: Emi-Chan  
  
E-mail: EmiChan14@aol.com  
  
Rating: G  
  
Keywords: 'Adagio for Strings' (another song), Miranda.....  
  
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine (except for Chloe). I don't pretend to own them, but I don't think anyone will mind if I borrow them for a little while.  
  
Summary: Declan persuades Miranda to come to a choir rehearsal.  
  
  
4:00 Monday Afternoon (a week later), Miranda's Lab  
  
Miranda picked up a test tube filled with a blueish-green colored liquid and examined it.  
  
As always, it was exactly the way it was supposed to be.  
  
She put down the test tube and scratched a few notes in her notebook. She then measured out a small amount of a white powder and mixed it in with the blueish-green liquid and put it down again.  
  
She sat down in a chair to wait for the chemical reaction to take place. It usually took a minute.  
  
There was a knock at the door.  
  
"Come in," she said.  
  
The door opened and Declan popped his head inside. "Hey, Miranda," he greeted her as he walked in.  
  
"Hi." Miranda answered simply. She looked up at him and could tell that he had a surprise for her. She sighed. She didn't have time for a surprise right now.  
  
"Are you busy?" Declan asked.  
  
"Yes,"  
  
"You wanna take a break?" Declan wasn't going to give up that easily.  
  
"Declan, I've got homework," was Miranda's weak excuse.  
  
"Can't you do it later?"  
  
Miranda opened her mouth to protest, but she knew she wouldn't get anywhere. "All right," she said reluctantly as she stood up and grabbed her notebook and a pen, just in case she had time to do homework.  
  
"Let's go," Declan said excitedly.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
It was late February and the weather was somewhere in between winter and spring. There was snow on the ground, but there had been a constant, misty rain all day. It was actually quite refreshing after being in the stuffy laboratory all day.  
  
"So where exactly are we going?" Miranda inquired.  
  
"You'll see," was Declan's reply.  
  
To Miranda's surprise, they didn't go toward Declan's truck. Instead, they were walking across the campus toward....  
  
"The Music Building?" Miranda gave Declan a 'what's going on?' look.  
  
Instead of giving a reply, Declan simply opened the door to the Music Building and they went inside.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"Catherine!" Chloe called to her best friend, "Come sit over here!"  
  
Catherine looked up at Chloe and walked quickly to the empty seat beside her.  
  
"So how's your week been?" Chloe asked.  
  
Catherine made a face, "I had three tests on Friday, can you believe it?"  
  
"Three tests?" Chloe gawked, "Goodness! I feel sorry for you."  
  
"Don't be," Catherine replied, "it meant I didn't have any homework."  
  
"Okay, so now I envy you...."  
  
"Good afternoon, everybody!" the choir director, Mr. Caldwell, said perkily, "Let's start off with some humming."  
  
The entire choir immediately sat up in their seats and began humming along to Mr. Ivory playing the piano.  
  
Hmmmmmmmm and up a half step, hmmmmmmmmm and up a half step....  
  
"Sit up, Miss Brenner," Mr. Caldwell reminded one of the sopranos.  
  
Declan and Miranda walked quietly in.  
  
"So you took me away from my homework so we could listen to a choir practice?" Miranda whispered, a little mad.  
  
"This isn't just any choir, this is the best choir I've ever heard!" Declan whispered back as they sat down.  
  
"Declan, I don't have time to listen to a choir practice!" Miranda said, almost forgetting to whisper.  
  
"Shh!" Declan shushed her.  
  
Miranda sighed and took out her notebook. Might as well get *something* done.  
  
The choir soon finished their warm ups and went on to singing songs. Declan was right. They *were* good. Of course that didn't mean he should have interrupted her study for this....  
  
They finished a song.  
  
"Take out 'Agnus Dei'." the director said. The choir members immediately flipped through their folders until they came to the right page.  
  
The accompanist played the first note and the choir began to sing. Right from the first few notes, the piece sounded familiar to Miranda.  
  
The slowly moving soprano line, the sustained chords underneath...... all in the most beautiful harmony.  
  
Miranda sat in her chair, scratching out the one-page essay she had for homework while humming along with the choir and trying to figure out what song she was humming. The name of the piece, 'Agnus Dei', didn't ring a bell for some reason. Maybe she had heard wrong.  
  
She stood up. She had to find out what piece it was. She walked over to a woman who was sitting by a box of musical folders and other things.  
  
"Excuse me," Miranda whispered as she tapped the woman on the shoulder.  
  
The woman looked up.  
  
"Do you have a copy of the piece they're singing?" she asked.  
  
The woman rummaged through the box by her feet and pulled out a folder. She handed it to Miranda saying, "It's belongs to a choir member who's absent so you have to give it back."  
  
"Okay," Miranda said. She brought the folder back to her seat.  
  
She leafed through the music, but found nothing until the very last piece in the folder.  
  
Sure enough, it was entitled, 'Agnus Dei', but there was another title written in small print underneath, it said, 'Adagio for Strings, Op. 11, transcribed for mixed Chorus with Organ or Piano Accompaniment'.  
  
"Adagio for Strings," she muttered.  
  
Adagio for Strings! Of course!  
  
The memory suddenly came back to Miranda. She remembered being sixteen years old and the second chair violinist for her school orchestra. This had always been her favorite piece. She remembered practicing for hours until she got a mark on her neck from the chin rest and callouses on the fingertips of her left hand from pressing down on the strings.  
  
As a child, she had always been musical. She considered it the balance to her scientific side. Once she started college, she neglected her music because science had become more important to her -- a part of her everyday life. Her violin now lay in a box somewhere in her apartment, forgotten.  
  
As she listened to the last notes of her once cherished song, Miranda realized that maybe it *was* a good thing Declan had taken her here. 


	3. Wanting Memories

Chloe stood in front of the mirror as she put a barrette in her short, brown hair. She stepped back a bit to examine herself.  
  
It was the day of the concert and Chloe was wearing her concert black, the 'uniform' her choir had for concerts. They could basically wear whatever they wanted as long as it was black and dressy.  
  
Chloe glanced at her watch and immediately headed down the stairs and tapped on the bathroom door, "Lauren," she called, "are you about ready?"  
  
"In a minute," Chloe's older sister Lauren called from the bathroom.  
  
"We have to be there in fifteen minutes," Chloe reminded her sister.  
  
"Don't worry, we won't be late," Lauren answered.  
  
"Yes, we will," Chloe muttered under her breath as she walked to the living room and plopped down on a lazy boy chair.  
  
She found her folder on the table next to the chair and leafed through the pages of music. She stopped at one particular song, called 'Wanting Memories'.  
  
I am sitting here, wanting memories  
To teach me to see the beauty in the world  
Through my own eyes.  
  
Chloe began to sing softly.  
  
You used to rock me in the cradle of your arms.  
You said you'd hold me 'till the pains of life were gone.  
You said you'd comfort me in times like these and now I need you,  
And now I need you,  
And you are gone.  
  
So I am sitting here, wanting memories  
To teach me to see the beauty in the world  
Through my own eyes.  
  
Lauren walked in the room. "Ready to go?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," Chloe said.  
  
They walked outside and went to Lauren's gray Blazer.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
After finishing with warm-ups, everyone in the choir had an hour to wait for the concert to start. Some people had brought cards to play with and others had books to read, while still others brought homework along. Chloe was practicing to make sure she knew all of the music. She continued to sing 'Wanting Memories' very softly to herself.  
  
Since you've gone and left me,  
There's been so little beauty,  
But I know I saw it clearly through your eyes.  
  
Now the world outside is such a cold and bitter place.  
Here inside I have few things that will console,  
And when I try to hear your voice above the storms of life, then I remember  
All the things that I was told.  
  
Yes, I am sitting here, wanting memories  
To teach me to see the beauty in the world  
Through my own eyes....  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"So why exactly are we fifteen minutes early?" Peggy asked Declan as he drove his truck into the parking lot.  
  
"We want to get good seats, don't we?" Declan responded as he took his key out of the ignition and opened the door. "Besides, that's when Miranda said she'd meet us."  
  
"Miranda's coming?" Peggy asked, surprised.  
  
"Yeah," Declan said casually, as if Peggy should have known that.  
  
"There she is," Peggy spotted Miranda by the door and waved.  
  
Miranda acknowledged Peggy in her own Miranda-like way as they came to the front door of the auditorium.  
  
"You're on time," Miranda said, surprised, or at least, as surprised as Miranda gets.  
  
"Well, let's just go on in," Declan said.  
  
"Okay," Miranda and Peggy said in unison. The three of them went into the lobby of the auditorium.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Chloe waited nervously backstage. She was always nervous just before concerts, and she probably always would be.  
  
She closed her eyes and listened to the dull roar of conversation between people in the audience. She couldn't pick out any particular voices. That reminded her of just how large the audience was.  
  
It would probably be a good idea to think about something else.  
  
What about that one professor guy? He certainly seemed to be interested in her music. He had even brought that one girl with him to her practice. What was her name again? Melissa? Mariah? Miranda. That was it. She wondered if he would be at the concert. Of course, she wasn't going to look. She knew from experience that it looked very tacky when someone peeked through the curtains.  
  
She looked at her watch. It was 7:20. Ten more minutes. It was probably time to get in our line to go on stage.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
"See," Declan said with a smile on his face, "I told you we'd get good seats if we came early."  
  
Declan, Peggy, and Miranda sat down in the sixth row from the front.  
  
One of the choir members hurried across the stage, wearing her formal black outfit. Glancing over at Miranda, Declan said, "Looks like you would fit right in with this choir,"  
  
Miranda ignored Declan. It was almost time for the concert to start.  
  
The members of the choir, dressed in formal black attire, filed silently onto the stage. After every person was in place, the conductor walked onstage. He was greeted with applause.  
  
"Good evening and welcome to tonight's concert," he said into the microphone, "because of the mood of tonight's repertoire, we ask that you withhold your applause until the end of the program. We also ask that you turn of any cell phones, beepers, or other electronic devices and not take any flash photography. Thank you and enjoy the concert."  
  
Peggy looked down at her program. The first song was entitled 'Wanting Memories'. She listened as the piano started playing a steady rhythm and the choir started in unison.  
  
I am sitting here, wanting memories  
To teach me to see the beauty in the world  
Through my own eyes.  
  
Yes, I am sitting here, wanting memories  
  
The alto part came in.  
  
To teach me to see the beauty in the world  
Through my own eyes.  
  
You used to rock me in the cradle of your arms.  
You said you'd hold me 'till the pains of life were gone.  
You said you'd comfort me in times like these  
And now I need you,  
And now I need you,  
And you are gone.  
  
Suddenly, Peggy began to remember her husband. She realized that she could really relate to this song.  
  
The chorus began again.  
  
So I am sitting here, wanting memories  
To teach me to see the beauty in the world  
Through my own eyes.  
  
Since you've gone and left me  
There's been so little beauty,  
But I know I saw it clearly through your eyes.  
  
A tear ran down her face. Sadly, this was true. She remembered being so happy with Adam there right beside her, and now ...  
  
Now the world outside is such a cold and bitter place.  
Here inside I have few things that will console.  
And when I try to hear your voice above the storms of life,  
Then I remember  
All the things that I was told.  
  
As the chorus repeated itself again, she felt a hand hold on to hers. She looked to her left and saw Declan's worried face. "Are you all right?" he asked.  
  
Peggy pursed her lips and nodded.  
  
I think on the things that made me feel so wonderful when I was young.  
I think on the things that made me laugh, made me dance, made me sing.  
I think on the things that made me grow into a being full of pride.  
Think on these things,  
For they are truth.  
  
The chorus repeated itself yet again and Peggy started thinking that maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all. Adam's death was very sad, but Peggy realized that she had been remembering his death too much, and she had to remember his life and all of the good things that his presence in her life had brought to her.  
  
I thought that you were gone,  
But now I know you're with me.  
You are the voice that whispers all I need to hear.  
  
I know a please, a thank-you, and a smile will take me far.  
I know that I am you and you are me and we are one.  
I know that who I am is numbered in each grain of sand.  
I know that I've been blessed again and over again.  
  
Peggy's face was now wet with tears, but they weren't sad tears. They were happy tears. She had thought that Adam was gone forever, but she was wrong. He was there with her, and she had ignored him in her own grief.  
  
She looked down at the hand that was still holding her hand. She knew Adam wouldn't mind. 


	4. Beautiful Evening

Chloe walked up the aisle of the auditorium. It was unusually vacant. Everyone was either in the lobby, or outside enjoying the sunny weather, which Portland saw so little of.  
  
The stage was also empty, except for the piano and the risers. There were still some lights on that would probably be turned off in a few minutes. One of the lights was focused on the piano.  
  
Chloe felt drawn to it. There was just something that attracted her to the instrument with its black polished exterior that glowed under the light.  
  
She walked up the steps to the stage and seated herself on the bench in front of the piano. Placing her foot on the sustain pedal and her fingers in the correct position, she began to play.  
  
The song she played was one of the first songs she had ever written. She had written it the summer she was ten years old. She remembered sitting in front of the upright piano she had at home and working out the melody, harmonies and rhythms, notating them neatly into her musical notebook.  
  
Her fingers now automatically went to the correct keys because she had played it so much. Her foot knew exactly when to release the pedal, and exactly when to push it down again.  
  
Music was so natural to her, almost like breathing. Sometimes, when she was at school, she would start singing to herself without even realizing it, and would have to be reminded by a teacher to be quiet.  
  
She played the last notes of her piece and let them reverberate through the auditorium.  
  
The sound of someone clapping brought her back to reality. She looked up and saw the professor she had met two weeks ago sitting in the front row with a big smile on his face.  
  
"That was really good," he said.  
  
Chloe smiled, "Thanks,"  
  
"I've never heard that before, what's it called?" he asked.  
  
"Beautiful Evening," Chloe replied.  
  
"Good name,"  
  
Chloe nodded and smiled, "Thanks," she said again. 


	5. Epilogue

Miranda unlocked the door to her apartment and walked inside. Usually, she would have finished some homework or gone straight to sleep if she didn't have any, but tonight she was going to do something she hadn't done in a long time.  
  
She went to her room and rummaged through her closet until she found what she was looking for: the leather case that held her violin. Sitting down on the edge of her bed, she carefully opened the case and took out her instrument. She placed it under her chin and drew the bow across two of the strings.  
  
She winced. Instead of the two notes being a perfect fourth interval, the clashed at an augmented fourth. In other words, the violin was in serious need of a tune up.  
  
After spending about fifting minutes playing a string, then turning the knob, the playing again, going through this process with each string, she again brought the instrument under her chin and played the two strings.  
  
They blended in perfect harmony.  
  
She played a scale, making sure to place her fingers in exactly the right place on the strings so that the right note would come out. Then she played Brahms' Lullabye, which, for some reason, was the only song that she could remember at the moment, even though she knew it was corny.  
  
Lullabye and goodnight,  
With roses delight ...  
  
Instead of focusing on the song, she focused on the notes, making sure that they weren't out of tune, because it was very easy to press down the string at the wrong place.  
  
She finished the song and was about to go back into her closet to pull out some of her old music when she heard a knock at the door.  
  
She went over to the door and opened it to find that the woman who lived directly underneath her was on the other side.  
  
"I'm sorry, was I bothering you?" Miranda mumbled apologetically.  
  
"No," she said, "I just didn't know you could play the violin."  
  
"Oh," Miranda replied, "well, I haven't played it in a while."  
  
"You're very good," she commented.  
  
"Thanks," Miranda said.  
  
"You actually got my two-year-old to sleep,"  
  
This comment caused Miranda to show her rare smile.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Declan's alarm clock went off and he woke up, confused. The alarm clock wasn't supposed to go off. He looked at the time and groaned. It was six o'clock in the morning. Who wakes up at six o'clock on Sunday?  
  
He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so he got up from bed, mumbling something about his alarm clock deciding to break on a Sunday.  
  
After taking his shower, Declan stood in front of his mirror. That's when it hit him. When he thought about it for a moment, he reasoned that it was probably a good thing he had gotten up early.  
  
He went to his closet and dug out his suit. When he had dressed himself, he went out the door.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Declan knocked on the door of his mother's house. In about a minute, she opened the door.  
  
"Declan!" she exclaimed happily.  
  
"Hi, Ma," Declan said, "I thought I'd come and escort you to mass."  
  
"Thank-you, Declan," she said.  
  
"No problem," Delcan said as he offered his mother her arm, which she accepted.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Peggy drove past the church for the fourth time.  
  
This morning she had felt the sudden urge to just go out for a drive. It was like she was led here. She was now going around the block, circling around the church.  
  
Why was she here? Even if she did want to go to church, it wouldn't start for another half hour. Hadn't she made her decision three years ago?  
  
Lately she had been doubting her decision. Actually, she'd been doubting it ever since she started getting to know Declan. Something about him renewed her hope. It made her think that maybe there *was* a god out there somewhere.  
  
A barrier had built up inside her. She always had this feeling that if she ever went back to church, she wouldn't be able to handle it without Adam. It would bring back too many sad memories. Last night's concert had been a breakthrough for her. She had realized that she could remember him in a good way, not focusing on his death, but the way his life had impacted her. She knew that if he was looking down at her right now, he wouldn't want her to give up church because of him.  
  
She was now on her sixth lap around the block, and this time when she passed the church, she turned decidedly into the parking lot.  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Peggy sat in the back of the sanctuary, just looking at it.  
  
It was exactly as she remebered it.  
  
There were blue stained glass windows lining both sides of the church, dotted with stars. Each star has a prism inside of it that would spread little rainbows throughout the sanctuary whenever the sunlight hit it just right. Today was a sunny day, so the windows that were facing east filled the sanctuary with colors.  
  
One of the rainbows landed directly at the foot of the cross in the front. It was a large wooden cross, about twelve feet high, with a purple cloth draped across it for the season of Lent.  
  
It was just so beautiful that all Peggy could do was sit there and stare at it.  
  
"Peggy?" a familiar voice asked. She looked up.  
  
"Pastor Harrison," she said.  
  
"You've come back," he said.  
  
Peggy smiled, "Yeah,"  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
Chloe stared at the staff paper that she had proped up on the music stand on her piano. Written on the pages were the notes that made up her best work yet: a piece for a string orchestra.  
  
It was almost finished. She just had to think up the perfect ending. She had been sitting here for almost two hours now, playing possible endings on the piano, sometimes starting to write one in, but then realizing that it wouldn't work. It was a good thing her pencil had a good eraser.  
  
She only needed one or two more measures, maybe three, but they were probably the most important measures in the whole piece. They had to be something origional; they had to capture someone's attention.   
  
Suddenly, and idea dawned on her. Maybe she could have them play the last phrase really loud -- fortissimo -- once, and then they could go down an octave, turn the volume down quite a bit -- mezzo piano, maybe -- and slow down for a quiet, yet grand ending. Maybe she could even put a grand pause right before the ending for an added effect, and a firmata on the last note. She turned the idea over in her head, then fingered the notes on the piano.  
  
That was it! That was the perfect ending! She quickly wrote the notes out on the staff paper, then went over the whole thing in her mind, going over all of the crescendos and decrescendos, all of the solos and the full orchestra parts. This was, no doubt about it, the best work she had ever done. She smiled as she closed her composition book and sat down on her couch.  
  
She loved composing. It was so much fun to come up with origional melodies in her head, and then make up harmonies to go with it until it came out to be a musical piece. She didn't care if they ever got published or if anyone ever heard them. She was happy with experiencing the joy of music. Maybe, without her even knowing it, her music would touch the lives of other people.  



End file.
